Wajackoyah Eats Into Ruto's Numbers in Latest Poll

by Brian Kimani on Tuesday, 21 June 2022 - 11:58 am

Deputy President William Ruto together with his Running mate Rigathi Gachagua being cleared for the August 9 polls by IEBC officials at the Bomas of Kenya on June 4, 2022.

Roots party presidential candidate Prof George Wajackoyah's popularity has shot to seven percent in the latest poll by TIFA.

In the survey released on Tuesday, June 21, the legal scholar appears to have dented Deputy President William Ruto's fortunes after the DP's popularity in Nairobi county dipped to 25 percent in June 2022.

On the other hand, Azimio la Umoja Presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, has hit the 50 percent mark, from 41 percent in May 2022.

Roots Party flagbearer George Wajackoyah at his office in Nairobi on June 10, 2022.

George Wajackoyah

"This clear popularity gap of both ODM and Azimio is also reflected in the support-distribution for the main presidential candidates, with ODM’s Raila Odinga’s at twice the level of UDA’s William Ruto (50% vs. 25%)," TIFA stated.

The poll further shows that Roots party is at per with the ruling Jubilee party's popularity in Nairobi county at four percent . Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party's popularity increased from 26 percent to 30 percent while UDA's has remained constant at 22 percent.

For the Nairobi gubernatorial race, Kenya Kwanza's Johnson Sakaja leads with 40 percent, with his rival, Azimio's Polycarp Igathe closing in with 32 percent. From the numbers, it appears the contest is heating up, as Igathe, the last entrant into the race, saw his popularity grow by 17 percent between May 2022 and June 2022.

"Regarding the gubernatorial and senatorial contests, the former is now a much closer race than it was two months ago, with Senator Johnstone Sakaja of UDA only slightly ahead of his main opponent, Jubilee’s Polycarp Igathe (40 percent vs. 32 percent), a fact that suggests how little is the importance of party identity itself to many would-be voters. "

In the Senatorial race, ODM Edwin Sifuna's popularity is three times that of UDA's Bishop Margaret Wanjiru (27 percent vs 9 percent). However, two-thirds of Nairobi residents (64 percent) are still undecided about the race.

Incumbent Woman Representative, Esther Passaris of ODM is leading with double the margin as opposed to her opponent, UDA's Millicent Omanga (32 percent against 19 percent).

The poll was conducted across by a sample size of 632 respondents across 17 constituencies in Nairobi county. The survey aimed at establishing the preferred candidates in Nairobi County leading up to the August 9 poll.